Monaco explosion reportedly wounds Ukrainian tycoon and his family, as police hunt suspect who fled to France

A blast from an explosive device seriously injured at least two people at an apartment building in Monaco, and local authorities said a suspected attacker had fled on foot into neighboring France. French and Ukrainian media said a Ukrainian magnate and his wife and teenage child were those injured.

The apparent attack on Monday night stunned the elite principality on the Mediterranean Coast. Monaco's leader Prince Albert II called it "an odious act" and said all the country's services were mobilized to ensure security.

French and Monaco authorities were searching for the attacker, whose motive was under investigation, Monaco's most senior government official, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand, told reporters. Asked about a possible assassination attempt, he replied: "We can assume it." 

The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. at the entryway of a residential building near the French border, injuring two adults and a child who were taken to hospitals in France, he said.

French broadcaster BFM and Ukrainian news site Ukrainska Pravda identified one of the injured as Ukrainian construction tycoon Vadym Iermolaiev. Ukrainska Pravda said he was targeted by Ukrainian sanctions in 2023 for ties to Russia, a year after Moscow launched its ongoing full-scale invasion.

Monaco Attorney General Stéphane Thibault told France's national TV network that a terrorist motive had been ruled out. The FranceInfo outlet quoted Thibault as saying that a person was seen dropping a bag or package in the apartment building's lobby before leaving.

FranceInfo said Iermolaiev and his wife, in their 50s and 60s, were seriously wounded, while their 13-year-old son sustatined less grave injuries.

The suspect crossed the border into France on foot but was identified via video surveillance in Monaco and the neighboring French town of Beausoleil, Mirmand said.